According to NBC News, top aide officials and military officers have warned that more helicopters are desperately needed to get assistance to the farthest reaches of earthquake-struck Nepal.

Twenty-eight countries are helping in the rescue effort, but “there are 20 helicopters operating here, most of them Indian,” Air Vice Marshal Upkarjit Singh of the Indian Air Force told NBC News.

The rescue efforts will completely stall without choppers as a 30-minute helicopter ride to the town of Charikot in northeastern Nepal would be five days via road. That doesn’t take into account that many of the roads are blocked by landslides, making it impossible for trucks to get through.

Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Centre said Saturday that the death toll had risen to 7,040 from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake. The U.N. has estimated the quake affected 8.1 million people — more than a fourth of Nepal’s population of 27.8 million.

Ertharin Cousin, the U.N. World Food Program’s executive director, called for more helicopters to help distribute aid in the mountainous country.

“We definitely need more helicopters,” she told The Associated Press on Saturday.

“Even seven days in this is still very much considered the early days, because there are people we still haven’t reached,” she said. “So we need helicopters to reach them.”

That also doesn’t take into account all the logistical factors in having additional helicopters: parking, refueling, etc.

There could be some relief in sight: The Nepali army told NBC News that it would be receiving as many as eight additional military helicopters from the U.S. as early as this weekend.

There were only four deployments in eight hours on Friday from the Khatmandu Army Aviation airbase. Much of the aid — around 470 tons distributed by Friday morning — hasn’t been distributed, according to Nepal’s military.

Tim Black is a software developer, author, day trader and real estate investor. He’s been known to do some rock climbing, backpacking, off-roading, shooting and keyboard playing. He spends much of his time in the Dallas TX area.

In addition to NoozSaurus, Tim writes the occasional guest blog at Technorati.com and WinnersEdgeTrading.com.

I have a wonderful wife and BFF of 38 years, two awesome kids, one awesome foster kid, two awesome sons-in-law and several dozen kids that call me Daddo. 🙂 Yes, God has richly blessed me.

If you want to know more about me, message me and we’ll do coffee. I like coffee. 🙂

About the Author

Tim Black is a software developer, author, day trader and real estate investor. He's been known to do some rock climbing, backpacking, off-roading, shooting and keyboard playing. He spends much of his time in the Dallas TX area.
In addition to NoozSaurus, Tim writes the occasional guest blog at Technorati.com and WinnersEdgeTrading.com.
I have a wonderful wife and BFF of 38 years, two awesome kids, one awesome foster kid, two awesome sons-in-law and several dozen kids that call me Daddo. :) Yes, God has richly blessed me.
If you want to know more about me, message me and we’ll do coffee. I like coffee. :)